1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automobile having enhanced resistance to laterally directed impacts.
2. Disclosure Information
Destructive testing of automotive vehicles typically includes the imposition of dynamic loading to the vehicle bodysides, typically in the form of a pendulum strike on the bodyside, or by crash testing. Such testing, in either form, imposes severe loading on the structural members of the body, particularly the door, B-pillar, and rocker panel assemblies. As testing requirements become more stringent, management of impact energy to reduce the intrusion of a barrier into the passenger compartment becomes even more difficult. In the case of separate frame and body vehicles, the resistance of the body to lateral intrusion may be enhanced if the frame rails, which have great strength in a lateral bending mode, could be coupled to the rocker panels and overlying closure panels. Unfortunately, dynamic coupling of the rocker panel, B-pillar, and closure structures with the frame may create an undesirable noise and vibration path between the frame rail and the balance of the body structure during normal operation.
The inventors of the present structural system have determined that the ability of an automotive body to manage laterally directed impact loads will be enhanced with the addition of the frame standoff member described herein, without adversely affecting the vehicle""s interior noise and vibration signature. The present frame standoff device allows the vehicle""s body to react in a more controlled manner against laterally imposed loads, and at an earlier time during a crash sequence, because deformation of the body""s doors, B-pillar, and rocker panel will be resisted by the column strength of the frame standoff member.
With a more typical prior art construction, such as that disclosed,in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,509 the space between the inner rocker panel and the outboard face of the frame rail or other facing structure must first be closed by plastic deformation of the sheet metal bridging between these two structures. This sheet metal is usually flat and comprises a portion of the floorpan. As a result, the sheet metal is unable to absorb significant energy and in any event the magnitude of the intrusion is reduced little by the sheet metal. The present invention provides much greater energy absorption during the bodyside deformation by providing the capability for column resistance to deformation, rather than the mere bending of sections of sheet metal.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an automotive body and chassis includes an outer rocker panel and an inner rocker panel joined to said outer rocker panel, with a closure structure having a portion overlying and extending outboard from said outer rocker panel. A frame rail extends longitudinally under the floor pan inboard of the inner rocker panel, with the frame rail having a generally vertical outboard face. A frame standoff member is rigidly attached to the inner rocker panel and extends laterally inboard from the inner rocker panel to the outboard face of said frame rail. The frame standoff member is normally being separated from the outboard face of the frame rail by a clearance gap such that lateral displacement of the closure panel and said outer and inner rocker panels relative to said frame rail resulting from an impact load upon the closure structure will be resisted by the frame standoff member and the frame rail once the clearance gap has been closed.
The frame standoff member preferably includes a structural column having a first end welded to said inner rocker panel. The standoff member may also include an upper flange welded to the floor pan. The configuration of the frame standoff member may include a box-shaped structural column welded at one end to an inner rocker panel.
An automotive body and chassis according to the present invention preferably further includes a frame cross member extending across the body under the floor pan and inboard from said frame rail at a longitudinal position proximate the frame standoff member.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for augmenting the capability of an automobile to react to an impact load imposed laterally upon a closure structure of the automobile, includes the steps of reacting to the impact load initially with laterally directed plastic deformation of said closure structure and a rocker panel structure abutting a lower portion of said closure structure, as well as a floor pan extending inboard from said rocker panel structure, and
reacting to the load secondarily by means of column compression of a frame standoff member mounted to an inboard portion of the rocker panel structure, with the frame standoff member extending inboard of the rocker panel structure to a longitudinally running frame rail, and with the frame standoff member and the frame rail being separated by a clearance gap which allows the rocker panel structure to be uncoupled from the frame rail during normal operation of the vehicle, such that the frame standoff member is subjected to column compression between the rocker panel structure and the frame rail once the floor pan and the rocker panel structures have deformed sufficiently to cause the clearance gap to close.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the present frame standoff member allows an automotive body to react to higher laterally directed impact loads with greater resistance to deformation, by utilizing the superior bending strength of chassis frame rails, thereby reducing lateral intrusion.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that the enhanced resistance to lateral intrusion offered by the inventive structures will not negatively impact the noise, vibration, and harshness characteristics of an automobile equipped according to this invention.
Other advantages, as well as objects and features of the present invention, will become apparent to the reader of this specification.